As part of B Corp Month and International Women’s Day at x+why this March, we’re celebrating the women behind the B. Hermione Taylor is CEO of Do Nation - a progressive platform that’s tackling climate change through behaviour change. We spoke to her about her journey from a Masters in Environmental Technology and a cycling trip around Morocco, into the realms of better business and what it’s like to be a woman in the space.
As part of B Corp Month and International Women’s Day at x+why this March, we’re celebrating the women behind the B. Hermione Taylor is CEO of Do Nation - a progressive platform that’s tackling climate change through behaviour change. We spoke to her about her journey from a Masters in Environmental Technology and a cycling trip around Morocco, into the realms of better business and what it’s like to be a woman in the space.
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Tell us a little more about you and your role at Do Nation
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I’m the founder of Do Nation - an employee-focused platform designed to help companies achieve net zero by engaging their communities in climate action. I launched the platform about 12 years ago off the back of a Masters in Environmental Technology. I was always passionate about getting into the space but it’s been a long journey.
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My Masters research involved looking into pledging and encouraging behaviour change by working with groups, so I’ve always known that I wanted to run something with social impact at its core. I wanted to see a platform that all sorts of communities could use to engage their people. When no one would take on the idea I decided to do it myself.
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I initially looked into running Do Nation as a charity but I wanted it to be self-sustaining, so set it up instead as a social enterprise. Do Nation came about long before the B Corp movement was born, but we were quick to join when they popped up on our radar, certifying in 2017.
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Can you explain a little more about how the platform works to transform behaviour?
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We run campaigns that encourage people to make pledges - such as cycling to work, wasting less food, switching their pension scheme, or encouraging their workplace to do more around sustainability. Within the workplace we often run competitions or challenges with teams competing against each-other. People can compare things like their carbon and water waste savings, and have the data feed into an interactive leader board over a couple of months.
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What does it mean to be a B Corp?
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It’s a huge thing for us. For me personally, it’s the community of likeminded people who really go out of their way to support each-other. Do Nation have taken a long and winding journey and we wouldn’t have been able to continue without such a network.
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They’ve played a huge part in helping us to continue - through their belief in the importance of what we do, keeping me motivated and generous gestures. For example we’ve had offers of free desk space, pro-bono design support, and lots of B Corps such as Pukka Herbs and Innocent Drinks signing up to use the platform.
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We’ve grown from 2 to 17 people and with the policies we put in place as part of becoming a B Corp, we grew more rapidly. It helped us to expand without losing sight of who we are and what we stand for. Some of our policies include things like additional annual leave for choosing slow travel, or extra volunteering days, and it’s helped us to attract the right people, who care about the same things we do.
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What are some of the impacts that B Corp aim to have when it comes to women in the space?
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B Corps are doing some really great work when it comes to focusing on diversity and inclusion in general - helping to educate the business community on what this really means for businesses in practice. B Lab UK are running various campaigns aiming to level the playing field and get broader representation across all sorts of businesses. There's still a long way to go though!
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How does being a woman in business at a B Corp compare to your experiences in the past?
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Luckily, I’ve only ever worked in a B Corp and it’s always been women-lead. I have found that when I started Do Nation, I never really thought about myself as being at a disadvantage as a woman. It was only when I got invited to a specifically female founders mentor programme that I started to wonder if I was supposed to need extra support as a woman.
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I am fortunate in that I come from a family of entrepreneurs, so I have plenty of role models in business and I understand that’s quite unique and not so readily available to everyone. However when we moved into the Tech world and I got into raising investment, I did feel in a minority and found it challenging. I was often the only woman in the room, and began to see why people felt that it was hard.
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In the B Corp world I don’t feel that at all. There seems to be a good balance and there are no particular disadvantages or challenges for women that I can pin point of note.
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Do you think it’s a possibility that one day all businesses might be run this way and what is stopping governments from making it mandatory?
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We would love it if that did become the future or the default for businesses. If more companies were run with purpose at their core and broader stakeholders in mind our communities would undoubtedly be better off. B Lab are working hard with the Better Business Act to make progress in this arena, by appealing for some simple changes to the Companies Act to make it easier for companies to balance people, planet and profit. This should be the default, not the exception!
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In terms of your past, present and future B Corp Journey – do you have any key insights from each stage?
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Because we have been growing so rapidly recently, we are in a position of flux - in the past I managed everything but now we have a team. I sat them all down and talked to them about what it means to be a B Corp and why this felt like a pivotal moment for Do Nation.
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So when it comes to the present and where we are now, the team are definitely more engaged and starting to feel part of a greater journey. As we head into the future, we need everyone in the team to feel part of the project and mission, and to play their part in helping us really be a force for good in everything we do.
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No detail is too small - whether it’s website programming to reduce the carbon footprint of site visits, to where we source our suppliers and who they are - every single aspect of the value chain is thought about in depth. The biggest part of our certification is our impact business model, to grow and engage more businesses and people in climate action.
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We are already net zero in some sense, but we set a carbon reduction target to save a thousand tonnes of carbon for every 1 tonne we emit by 2030. We're working on our 2021 Impact Report at the moment and I'm feeling optimistic!
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How did you tackle a certain challenge or area of the BIA?
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Ironically, one challenge that we had was measuring our own carbon footprint, even though we are a carbon reduction and measurement tools for individuals. Our team has always been remote, and as a mostly digital business we didn’t really have many direct emissions.
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But then a fellow B Corp called Green Element helped us measure our home office emissions, and Wholegrain Digital's Website Carbon tool helped us reduce our website's carbon footprint. And as teams are more remote now with the changes instigated by the pandemic, I’m sure there are also a lot more tools and guidance available.
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What are your sources of inspiration and what motivates you?
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The thing that motivates me the most is the events - getting together with likeminded people running cool and inspiring projects. I always came away buzzing from the B Corp socials.
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How has what you do changed you as a person?
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In spite of the major issues the planet still faces, running Do Nation gives me hope. I see the impact we have in the communities we work with and the potential that holds.
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I have grown a lot over the last few years. Given that Do Nation is all about trying to live sustainably, I’m known for that and it’s often become a running joke amongst my friends - I can't rest on my laurels, I have to walk the walk and do the do.
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I’ve started coaching recently so that I can train to be a better leader for my team, and to be able to make a greater impact both personally and professionally.
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